Matthew 28:12
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money to the soldiers,
American King James Version (AKJV)
And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money to the soldiers,
American Standard Version (ASV)
And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave much money unto the soldiers,
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And when they had come together with those in authority, and had made their decision, they gave much money to the watchmen, saying,
Webster's Revision
And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
World English Bible
When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers,
English Revised Version (ERV)
And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
Clarke's Matthew 28:12 Bible Commentary
With the elders - That is, the senators of the great Sanhedrin or Jewish council of state, elsewhere called the elders of the people; they could now meet, as the Sabbath was over.
Barnes's Matthew 28:12 Bible Commentary
And when they were assembled ... - They deemed the matter of so much importance as to justify the calling together of the great council of the nation. Notwithstanding all their caution, it was plain that the body of Jesus was gone. It was further plain that the disciples would affirm that he was restored to life again. It was not improbable that Jesus would himself appear, and convince multitudes that he was the Messiah, and that the guilt of putting him to death would, after all their caution and cunning, be charged on them. They had been at great pains to procure his death. They had convinced Pilate that he was dead. They had placed a guard for the express purpose of preventing his being taken away. It would be in vain, after this, to pretend that he was not dead; that he was in a swoon; that he died in appearance only. They had shut themselves out from this, which would have been the most plausible plea, and, whatever course they might now adopt, they were obliged to proceed on the admission that he had been really dead, and that all proper measures had been taken to prevent his being stolen. They concluded, after consultation, that but one way was left - to bribe the soldiers - to induce them to tell a falsehood - and to attempt to convince the world that Jesus, in spite of themselves, and in the face of all probability, had been really stolen.
Large money - Much money. This was given to bribe them; to induce them to conceal the truth, and to affirm what they knew was false.